Hello everyone! I of course use coconut oil for my hair treatments but I also use it as a moisturizer or lotion . My skin is sooo soft and the oil absorbs really quickly in my dry skin but I wonder if I could add some fragrance? On the skin the oil has no scent really and I do not want anything extreme but I do like a little fragrance. If I mixed in some essential oil into coconut oil that I use as a moisturizer do any of you think it'll ruin the good properties the coconut oil has? Any nice scented essential oil recommendations?!

HintOfMint

April 14th, 2010, 05:55 PM

Use a perfume oil. I have a few bottles from the body shop and I mix them with my coconut oil and olive oil. I don't mix them all at once in a container. (I don't want to get the ratios wrong and make it too strong and waste oil) I put a dab of perfume oil in my palm and then mix whatever amount of olive or coconut oil I was planning to use for that application in my palm, rub my hands together and apply. I love it.

An essential oil may not be a good idea since, depending on the ratio of the base oil (coconut in your case) to essential oil, the EO might not be diluted enough and might be harmful and cause irritation. From what I've heard, EOs are very concentrated and potent.

ETA: Aveda has perfume oils as well, and a wide selection. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm curious. Also be careful about putting your mixture around the eyes and mouth, for obvious reasons.

TiaKitty

April 14th, 2010, 06:10 PM

I put patchouli oil into my coconut. It works great. Just a couple of drops so it will be somewhat subtle. I also put in some orange oil.

anneisanne

April 14th, 2010, 06:32 PM

I put a couple drops of peppermint EO into just about everything, and it seems to work well.

Johanna

April 14th, 2010, 07:51 PM

I've heard that putting a few drops of rose oil in is really nice as well :)

pinchbeck

April 14th, 2010, 08:20 PM

Of course adding a fragrance is a great idea! You may want to consider if you prefer a naturally based fragrance or synthetic.

Yozhik

April 14th, 2010, 08:48 PM

I've been wanting to do this, too! Actually, I got a bottle of EO bergamot to add to my coconut oil from Prairieland Herbs specifically for this purpose. On the website they sell the EOs as ingredients for making your own lotions/shampoo, so I'm taking their word for it ;) (of course looking up a good ratio would also be a good idea)

caribou55313

April 14th, 2010, 09:21 PM

A cut up vanilla bean gives gorgeous fragrance to coconut oil. You can just leave it in the bottle.

Hana

April 15th, 2010, 06:56 AM

A cut up vanilla bean gives gorgeous fragrance to coconut oil. You can just leave it in the bottle.

sounds yummy.
just like one would do with a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar?

idlevortex

April 15th, 2010, 08:29 AM

Geranium EO with coconut oil smells wonderful for me! Though I've only used it as a perfume. My hair isn't into coconut somehow :/

caribou55313

April 15th, 2010, 09:05 AM

sounds yummy.
just like one would do with a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar?

Cutting up a vanilla bean and putting that in the oil sounds both easy and absolutely heavenly!
I personally would not use synthetic perfumes, especially not ones intended for use as a room fragrancer.
Most essential oils are perfectly safe to use on the face, usually at a concentration of 0.5-1%. To help work that out 1% would be 1 drop in 5ml of oil, 5ml is 1 teaspoon.
Just be cautious with most citrus oils, delicious though they smell, now the warm weather is coming they can cause photosensitivity and quite nasty burns to the skin when exposed to sunlight.
I do love that vanilla idea though!

Zombiekins

April 15th, 2010, 09:53 AM

I used a bunch of cardamom pods and sprigs of curry plant to infuse my coconut oil with scent. Oh man it was awesome! You know those indian sweets that are sort of like fudge, but aren't as sugary sweet as american treats? It smelled like those and was just delightful. What started out as a hair oil only turned in to a body oil and the whole jar was used up inside of a month.

Which reminds me.... I need more coconut oil and cardamom pods! This time I'll likely infuse other things as well.

Good luck scenting your oil!

insaney2001

April 15th, 2010, 10:12 AM

Imixed up a small pot of coconut oil with a spash of rose water and it smells great. It took a little bit for the scent to really mesh with the oil but now it smells heavenly. And bonus my SO likes the smell yay. hehe and last night he even said how much he likes how my hair looks when its oiled.

Liss

April 15th, 2010, 10:22 AM

A cut up vanilla bean gives gorgeous fragrance to coconut oil. You can just leave it in the bottle.

I like this idea! I never thought of putting a scent into the coconut oil until I read this thread. I'm not too keen on the scent of coconut oil and I can always smell it in my hair.

I was trying to think of an EO that would blend nicely with the coconut oil smell, then read about the vanilla bean idea.

I usually chop up a vanilla bean and put it in my coffee perculator for the scent and taste, now I have yet another use for vanilla beans. I think it will go quite well with the coconut oil.